I’m sure this tent is good during a wind storm and rain/condensation issues. The Base Camp tents include a low side vent and multiple stuff pockets on the walls and ceiling, which are made of 75D polyester treated with 1500mm of polyurethane waterproofing. Note that these tents are strictly meant for car camping; the Base Camp 4 and the Base Camp 6 weigh 16 and 21 pounds, respectively, so you won’t want to carry either one very far. Coleman makes no dedicated footprints for its tents—the idea being that the polyethylene is tough enough not to need one. (Still, we suggest that you buy a groundsheet.) The tent has two small, internal pockets—fewer than on any of our other picks—and a loop at the ceiling center to hang a small, lightweight light.
If you don’t want rain coming through, tape it up with waterproof strong tape. The small screened triangle found on the awning fabric has a couple of uses. It allows some wind to travel through, so the awning doesn’t move around, and it also helps to drain any build-up of rainfall. You know you’re protected ozark trail instant cabin from any bugs, and you can get a lot of airflow at the same time. You also even have the area under the awning, so this tent is truly fit for many purposes. You can take a nap without worrying about others disturbing you, plus there are 2 doors so people can get in and out from different spots.
The zippers worked fine for the windows, but kept snagging on the door because of this rain cover. My other tents with similar designs did not have this serious of a snagging problem. The stitching especially around the doors and windows don’t seem that well done either, and I found a lot of excess threads as well.
Another two hanging pockets plus loops for a ceiling hammock provide simple yet effective interior storage. It’s natural to focus on the quality of a tent’s rain fly—you need that piece to work when the skies open up. But according to our experts, the durability of the floor of your tent is actually more important. A footprint doesn’t take up much space, is relatively inexpensive, and is much easier to repair or replace than a tent bottom if it tears. The Ozark Trail Yurt gets high marks for its overall interior space with 169 square feet of floor room and ceilings over 7 feet tall at their peak.
That doesn’t mean they all leak when it rains or collapse when it’s windy, but they simply aren’t built for bad weather. Light wind and rain should be fine, but you’ll want to take some steps to prepare for both (more on that below). It’s a cool tent all around, but our favorite feature has to be the 360-degree views delivered courtesy of this yurt’s ozark trail shower tent giant mesh windows. There are three of these large floor-level windows along the walls of the tent, plus the giant mesh doorway that can be left open in good weather. Having room to spread out inside a tent is great, but unless it’s after dark or raining, chances are you won’t be spending any more time inside your shelter than you absolutely have to.
To compare tent fabrics, you also need to know their overall rip strength. For most fabrics, rip strength is expressed as a measurement of the diameter of the fibers in their thread, or a denier—the higher the denier, the stronger the fabric. We found 40 denier up to 150 denier to be typical for car-camping tents; you can read more about these measurements in gear manufacturer MSR’s blog post and in this Outside article. Finding a small, light tent is the logical approach when you’re backpacking.
When used in the correct conditions avoiding harsh winds and rain, this is a fantastic versatile family tent. 3 rooms also give you the option to use one as a living and dining area, or even a storage area. As each room is big enough to fit a queen airbed, there wouldn’t be much space left for bags and other gear. It’s connected to the rainfly, so you can only use it when the fly is on, but it’s perfect for protecting against sunrays and light rain.
But the area is 140 ft² (13 m²) so this is far too small for such a number of users although indeed it should be possible to put 10 sleeping pads on the floor. Note again that the tent is fully floored, so this can work for a group of friends at a summer festival and for other similar activities. But for a family camping, it is best to downgrade this number by half. I think it works totally fine in fair weather, so you can take the rainfly off and open all the windows for a decent amount of ventilation. It definitely won’t be great in strong winds, heavy rain, or even light rain though.
Some testers, though, thought the tent was stuffy when the fly was fully closed and the sun was out. The Mineral King 3’s fly attaches intuitively with plastic buckles and has well-placed guy tabs. You can secure the fly to the poles with Velcro ties underneath the fly, so that the extra lines anchored the whole tent, not just the thin protective fabric, but we only needed to do so in very windy conditions. When the fly is fully deployed, the tent has two vestibules, which provide additional gear storage and also help ventilate the tent in inclement weather. And in a stroke of design brilliance, a small loop sewn into the top of the fly makes it possible to roll up one half of the fly, exposing the full mesh canopy while still providing shade and privacy.
The fabrics are often thinner and less technical (regular polyester rather than ripstop, etc.), and the poles are pretty much always made from cost-saving materials like fiberglass and thin steel alloy. Yes, we all want a big spacious tent with room for plush sleeping quarters, but we also recommend looking for the little features that can elevate your camping experience. Interior storage is a great example, as all those little mesh pockets help keep things organized and off the floor. Screen rooms, shade awnings, storage vestibules, and privacy dividers are also great examples of livability-added features. These features all work together to make a tent feel more like your home away from home and less like a makeshift shelter in the woods.